One Sugary Drink Per Day Can Lead To Heart Disease

I’ve been a bad blogger lately, which is sad for you because there’s been some great stuff in the news. Hopefully my schedule will clear a bit next week so I can get to the meatier issues. Today I’m going to start with a little appetizer from Harvard; a mass study (43,000) showing that those who drank soda, any soda, were at a 20% higher risk for heart disease than those who didn’t.

While this may sound shocking a little digging shows it’s not, really. The study’s parameters were broad and, basically, only led to the not-so-surprising conclusion that those who ate a healthier diet fared better than those who did not. From ABC News:

A growing body of research connects sugary drinks with increased risk of diabetes, weight gain, high blood pressure and a number of other chronic diseases. But nutrition experts note that the current study doesn't show that sugar-sweetened beverages cause heart disease. Consuming sugary drinks every day may simply indicate less healthy lifestyles that could lead to heart disease.

"To some extent, people who drink more soda are apt to eat less well overall," said Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale Prevention Research Center. "Too much added sugar in the diet is likely a 'marker' of lower overall diet quality."

Still, it’s another indictment of the sugary drink world (soda, sports drinks, and sugary juices were lumped together, which makes sense since they’re all basically the same) and that’s a good thing. The facts still remain; sugary drinks are the single largest caloric source in the world. And until that stops the obesity epidemic is going to continue to expand.

The Top 10 Reasons To Give Up Soda

If you're looking for a scapegoat in the obesity epidemic, look no further than soda. It's the single greatest caloric source in the world, accounting for somewhere between 11 and 19 percent of all the calories consumed worldwide. It's cheap, addictive, and readily available, which generally means that it will take some willpower to avoid. But don't despair, as we at Beachbody® are here to help. We present: our top 10 reasons to give up soda.

For those of you who read The Straight Dope but don't get my articles I thought I'd use this week's as a carrot. Just click on the above paragraph, which will take you to this week's newsletter, then enter your email address in the space in the nav bar. Notice that there are two options: the P90X newsletter and the regular Beachbody newsletter. I edit and write for both, but you'll need to use two different email addresses to get them both.

Then read on. If you're one of those who still drink soda all I can do is ask why? It is, and one of my older articles called it, the worst food in the world!

Should We Tax Soda?

My health news posts are generally reserved for The Fitness Nerd but this one's too important not to use all viral means possible as it's the tip of what promises to be a high fructose corn syrup filled iceberg:

Food Companies Fight Soda Tax Proposal Despite Staggering Obesity Epidemic

On the heels of the Nerd's last post, where Denis stated "someone needs to seriously smack-down the American junk food industry", the smack-down has been proposed if form of a tax on soda.

To me is makes perfect sense. We tax alcohol. We tax cigarettes. Soda does more damage and costs society more than both of those things combined, so why not?



"Americans Against Food Taxes" present of few reasons in the above ad. It should be noted that these particular Americans work in the soda, sugar, and genetically modified food industries. Personally, I think we should de-classify soda and other junk foods as food. Beer has more food value than soda.

Here's my take on the subject in more depth:

The World's Worst Food

What we have brewing is a 50's era tobacco-esque showdown between Big Junk Food and the American public. Almost makes me want to sit in a board room clogged with smoke and contemplate the solution over cocktails... almost.

Open Discussion on Health Care

At dinner last night with my wife and one of her co-workers we were discussing the declining state of health in our society. There is no longer any question that most of this is due to poor health habits. We eat bad food, we eat too much of it, and we don’t exercise enough. The result is that type 2 diabetes and other related lifestyle-induced diseases are the fastest growing illnesses in the world.

I’m in favor of a national health care system of some sort. Dave’s main problem with this is covering people who don’t bother to try and keep themselves healthy. On this point, I concur, but I pointed out that we do this now. While we don’t have an actual health care plan we do have a national system. In this system anyone can use an emergency room. So now our ERs are filled with people who have minor ailments, which interfere with those who need emergency treatment.

While the above paragraph somewhat summarized to talking point of the left and right on health care, the actually issue lies elsewhere. The solution is health practice. As a nation we could easily afford to take care of those who are sick and injuries if we could get rid of the problems associated with poor eating habits and lack of exercise. We’ve done it in the past, with both alcohol and tobacco, when we realized the national impact it was having. It’s high time we begin doing the same thing with other lifestyle behaviors that are costing society.

I’m not going to cite any numbers or details yet. These are just my opening thoughts. I’d like to start formulating a plan. If we can formulate a compelling argument we can use to three or so million of us associated with Beachbody to make ourselves heard on a national level.

Part I of the plan: Food labeling

We need to make the next step in food labeling. Our current macro-nutrient profiles can hide how our foods are often devoid of phytonutrients. What we need is to have every packaged food to be given a grade by the FDA: A – F.

Then, like using Michi’s Ladder, you’d be encouraged to eat higher grade foods. Of course we’d have corporate lobbying and disputed grades but, for the most part, good foods would still be obvious. For example, maybe a good potato chip would get a C while a bad one got an F, but no potato chip could ever get better than a C because no matter how you look at it these have no place in your diet other than as an indulgence. Ditto for ice cream and most desserts. All fruits and veggies would be A or B. No sense splitting hairs here. We’ll want to do this as consumers but veggies from nutrient depleted soil are still better than the best French fry.

Next, the government only allows food stamps to pay for A and B grade foods. If we don’t allow them to be used for beer and smokes, how can we allow them to be used for Coke and Cheetoes, which are arguably worse for you? There is no way a person on assisted living should be able to be obese. Yet this demographic is now highly obese and putting a huge strain on our health care system because of it.

The insidious reason why is because their diets are mainly made up of cheap processed food. There is no logic to why processed foods should be cheaper than those that take no processing until you understand how large scale food companies operate. Most “convenient foods” are made up of many bi-products from corn and soy production. These ingredients, such as high fructose corn syrup, soy lecithin, etc, etc, should be waste products but we’ve clever found ways to not only use them in our foods, but make entire foods out of them. Oh, the wonders of what chemical flavoring agents can do with what is essentially trash.

Most of this doesn’t have much nutrient merit so we fortify with just enough cheap vitamins and stuff to label it food. Obviously, this gook will be lacking some of nature’s subtleties but, hey, if it’s crunchy, tasty, and fills us up who’s to question it? Maybe the FDA can step in here and do some good.

We may be eliminating health class in school, or having our nutrition taught to us by the soda companies, but it’s not going to take an educated person to understand that if their cupboards are filled with D and F labeled foods that they probably could eat a little better. I think this one step would end up saving our country billions of dollars in health care costs. And it’s just step one. Next time I’ll present my exercise ideas.

Cola Causing Problems

For your weekend enjoyment, here's something I posted over on The Real Fitness Nerd.

I shortened to title of the latest study to blast our soft drink habit to make more colloquial sense. A Greek study showed that people who drank between two and nine liters of cola could suffer muscle problems, from minor weakness to serious paralysis. Yet more bad news surrounding the world's number one source of calories.

Too Much Cola Can Cause Muscle Problems

Really, people were having issues from drinking on two to nine liters a day? Shocking. And y'all thought Denis was exaggerating about how much Red Bull Americans drink.

The two examples used in the article drank three and seven liters of soda a day and suffered from muscular weakness, as well as appetite reduction, heart blockage, and persistant vomiting. Both were female.

Well I'm no Greek scientist but it doesn't take a PhD to figure out one of these women was drinking more than 100% her RDA for caloric intake from cola. And, gosh, she didn't feel good on a diet with a primary component is all sugar, with zero proteins and fats?! Go figure.

What this study concludes, more than anything else, is that people can withstand a massive amount of torture. It's really a testament to the human body that it can survive for so long while being poisoned daily.

Is Aspartame Safe?

My colleague Denis was just doing some research on Aspartame and came back with "it appears to be pretty safe." Here's my opinion:

While they are "safe" perhaps, from the FDA point of view, something in diet soft drinks is leading to obesity and illness. The rates are worse than those on regular soda. We'll see how this shakes out. My guess is that these artificial sweeteners are going to end up shouldering a lot of the blame. This, however, is hard to show in this type of article because there's a lot of "safe science" out there and a a lot of money behind it making sure it trumps the negative research, which is sounding more and more like Phillip Morris' tobacco research each year. But when you now have huge, cross cultural, long term studies all pointing to the exact same direction, something in diet soda is likely worse than the hypothesis of "it probably makes you crave other sweet foods". I, for one, have had a client who contradicted this. So even though the evidence is now pretty clear, the question still remains as to which is the evil ingredient, or is it the combination.

More on this topic here,

and here.

The World's Most Inane Beverage

What if we made an electrolyte supplement that didn't have any electrolytes in it?

Common logic would suggest that you'd be thrown out of a marketing meeting for such a suggestion but, somehow, someone at Gatorade got Employee of the Week instead. So if you ever wondered how a junky beverage like Gatorade could possibly be worse, you now have an answer; by eliminating the nutrients that were the reason for creating it in the first place. Ladies and gentlemen, introducing Low-Sodium Gatorade: the world’s most inane beverage.

How and why could this have happened?

Since marketing jargon has suggested that electrolytes in your diet are a good thing but excessive sodium in your diet is a bad thing, the geniuses at Pepsi (who own Gatorade) that if they could just get the sodium out of their electrolyte replenisher they'd have the perfect cocktail. The only problem here is all that pesky science that tells us sodium is the electrolyte that we need the most.

I suppose it's too much work to educate people that we only need to replenish something when we've lost it in the first place. The public hates all that A + B = C stuff anyway.

The basics look like this. When we sweat, we're losing electrolytes at an accelerated rate. When we're not sweating, we don't need to replenish them. The same thing is true for Gatorade’s other ingredient, sugar. This is why Gatorade was created for when playing sports. And sports, it seems, have been deemed a limiting factor for their marketing strategy.

I mean, why limit its application to things most of us don't want to be bothered with? Sports, after all, require us to move our bodies and, aghast, sweat. Can't we just have the sports drink without having to actually play the sports? After all, we can buy the Manning jersey and the Kobe shoes without the risk of someone D-ing up on us. Can't we have their drink, too? Now if we could just find a way to score all those contract endorsements by just watching sports, we'd really have something.

Why You Shouldn't Drink Diet Soda

I keep writing about this but here's a second opinion for you.

No safe haven: Diet sodas linked with health risks
Mon Jul 23, 2007 7:46PM EDT
By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Sodas -- even diet ones -- may be linked with increased risk factors for heart disease and diabetes, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

They found adults who drink one or more sodas a day had about a 50 percent higher risk of metabolic syndrome -- a cluster of risk factors such as excessive fat around the waist, low levels of "good" cholesterol, high blood pressure and other symptoms.

"When you have metabolic syndrome, your risk of developing heart disease or stroke doubles. You also have a risk of developing diabetes," said Dr. Ramachandran Vasan of Boston University School of Medicine, whose work appears in the journal Circulation.

Prior studies have linked consumption of sugar-laden sodas with multiple risk factors for heart disease, but Vasan and colleagues also found the link extends to diet sodas.

The study included about 6,000 middle-aged men and women who were observed over four years.

Those who drank one or more soft drinks a day had a 31 percent greater risk of becoming obese.

They had a 30 percent increased risk of developing increased waist circumference -- which has been shown to predict heart disease risk better than weight alone.

They also had a 25 percent increased risk of developing high blood triglycerides as well as high blood sugar, and a 32 percent higher risk of having low high-density lipoprotein or "good" cholesterol levels.

The researchers then analyzed a smaller sample of participants on whom data on regular and diet soft drink consumption was available. Those who drank one or more diet or regular sodas per day had a 50 to 60 percent increased risk for developing metabolic syndrome.

INTRIGUING NEW ANGLE

"The part about diet soda is more intriguing," Vasan said.

He said people who drink soda, whether diet or sugar-sweetened, tend to have similar dietary patterns.

"On average, soda drinkers tend to eat more calories, consume more saturated fat and trans fat, eat less fiber, exercise less and be more sedentary," Vasan said in a telephone interview.

The researchers adjusted for those factors and still observed a significant link between soft drink consumption and the risk of developing metabolic syndrome.

Vasan said there are several theories about how diet sodas could increase a person's metabolic risk.

"One possibility is that diet soda is sweet. Maybe drinking something sweet conditions you in such a way that you develop a preference for sweet things," he said.

"Also, diet soda is a liquid. When you take liquids at a meal, they don't satiate you as much (as solids)," he said.

The caramel coloring of some sodas also may play a role. He said caramel coloring in animal experiments was associated with tissue inflammation. "These are all theories which we have not studied," Vasan said.

He said while the study showed an association between soda consumption and having a higher risk of metabolic syndrome, it does not prove soda was the cause.

"Before people change their habits, we would like to see these data replicated in other studies, he said.

"We'd also like nutrition scientists to conduct additional research to help us understand why diet soda is associated with metabolic risk."

The American Heart Association, which publishes Circulation, said people should understand that the study did not demonstrate that diet sodas cause heart disease and said it can be better to have a diet drink than a full-calorie soda.

"The American Heart Association supports dietary patterns that include low-calorie beverages like water, diet soft drinks, and fat-free or low-fat milk as better choices than full calorie soft drinks," the group said.

The American Beverage Association said in a statement e-mailed to Reuters it appreciated the heart group made clear "the report ... does not show that soft drinks cause an increased risk of heart disease and it recognizes that diet soft drinks are a good option for those looking to cut calories in their beverages."

Aspartame

Artificial sweeteners suck and you should avoid them. Sure, science hasn't "proven" they will, for sure, kill you prematurely but that's most likely because companies make billions of dollars on these things, which means that they'll spend enough money on marketing, lawyers, and bogus science to ensure at least some doubt in placed in the mind of the end user about the legitamacy of the science showing it may be dangerous.

Here's the latest research to hit the newswires. Get it now before big PR firms beat it into "unproven scuttlebutt".

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Diet/story?id=3317079&page=1&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

Diet Coke Is Very Very Bad

So I talk about this all the time, but have you seen the video(s) of what happens when you drop a Mentos into a Diet Coke? Funny, indeed, but the idea that some people drink this stuff in an attempt to get healthier is absurd.

Diet Coke/Mentos Fountain Show

The Worst Food on the Planet

Nutrition 911, Part VI: The Worst Food on the Planet
By Steve Edwards

Welcome to Part VI of our oh-so-basic nutrition class designed to give
you an overview of basic nutrition and make healthy eating much
simpler. In Part I, we addressed the terms organic, grass-fed,
free-range, and farm-raised. Part II analyzed the ever-popular
"fat-free" and trendy "low-carb" slogans. In Part III, we took the CliffsNotes approach to reading food labels. Part IV tackled
dessert.

Last time (Part V), we discussed what you should eat. This time, let's
talk about what you shouldn't eat. Actually, I mean drink; leading to
our first lesson of the day. Calories are calories, whether you eat them
or drink them. And just what are the worst calories you can consume?
The answer is soda pop. Forget about brands; whether it's Coke, Barq's Root Beer, or Dr. Pepper, it's all junk. The taste might make you happy,
but from a nutritional point of view, soda's only place in the world is
to make people fat, sick, and unhappy.

Alarming statistics

In America, we drink a lot of cola (or "un-cola"). A lot. On average we
each drank 52.4 gallons in 2005, and this figure includes infants,
healthy folks, prisoners, etc., meaning that the average soda drinker actually gulps (their word) more than this. Carbonated soft drinks
are the biggest single caloric source in the American diet. Teenagers,
in particular, are hooked on the stuff and get an average of 13 percent
of their daily calories from "pop." If this doesn't scare you, it should.
In terms of sheer amount, these statistics could be alarming if it were
any one food. A proper diet should have some balance and diversity.
And soda pop is the antithesis of "any food." It's bad food.

"Empty calories"

We use the term "empty calories" for foods, like soda, that have no
place in a nutritious diet. I feel this term is misleading. The calories
in soda are far from empty. Most of them come from sugar. In the USA,
it's nearly always high-fructose corn syrup, the cheapest, most
processed sugar on the market. Other ingredients include caffeine,
various phosphates and acids, and artificial colorings. We'll get to
their effects on the human body in a minute, but first, let's stick to
the simple stuff. The average teenager consumes between 10 and 15 teaspoons per day of refined sugar via soda—about their daily
requirement, according to government standards, for all foods.
This means, that for the average teenager, their soda consumption
virtually eliminates their chances of eating a balanced diet. There's nothing empty about that.

Weird science

The soda companies are a marketing juggernaut. They spend roughly
$700 million a year on media advertising alone. Not to mention
hundreds of millions more sponsoring events, athletes, musicians,
and such. This volume of cash makes it difficult for consumers to
avoid them, by design. To avoid the temptation to drink Coke, you've
got to be highly principled or living in the middle of the jungle. And
even then, well, I once happened upon a soda vending machine
halfway up Mount Yarigatake in the Japanese Alps and a friend
traveling in Guatemala found Coke in a rural area that didn't have
running water. Let's just say, they're going to continue to make it
easy for you to find the stuff.

This type of marketing machine won't go away quietly. With the
stats above, you could certainly put two and two together and link
soda companies to the childhood (and adult) obesity epidemic that is arguably the world's most serious health crisis. Yet, while researching
this article I came across a widely published "study" stating that "soft drink consumption has no effect on childhood obesity." Suspicious
from the get-go (the word "no" being a huge red flag), it didn't take me
long to find this statement: "The research paper was supported by an unrestricted gift from the American Beverage Association." Bingo. Remember those Phillip Morris tobacco "studies" that promised a
long and healthy life from chain smoking?

What makes it so bad?

Besides the simple caloric trade-off, sodas are formulated to give you
a rush. The sugar is mixed with phosphates designed to speed it into
your system. It's so good, in fact, that many cyclists prefer Coca-Cola
to specific sports food when they need a sugar rush near the end of
races. And, while a sugar rush is a good thing when you're trying to
exceed your anaerobic threshold and are out of blood glycogen (never mind, if you don't know what this is), it's a bad thing whenever you're
not, which is even a competitive cyclist's state of being 99 percent of
the time.

Beyond the simple sugar rush, these acids and phosphates alter your
body's pH levels and inhibit absorption of other nutrients. Then there
are the effects of certain artificial coloring agents. For example,
yellow #5, commonly used in soft drinks, has been linked to
attention deficit disorder, hives, asthma, and other allergic reactions
in some children.

Then there is the nutrient trade-off to consider. A person who drinks
a Big Gulp per day must go to great lengths to maintain a balanced
diet. Otherwise they will almost certainly be deficient in numerous vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, and essential fatty or amino
acids—none of which are found in soda. For this reason, soda is
often linked to type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, dental erosion, and a
higher risk of kidney stones and heart disease. And that's just a start. There's plenty of less scientific data linking soda to
poor scholastic habits.

Diet sodas and juicesIn an attempt to become thought of as healthier,
soda companies have diversified into non-carbonated beverages and
diet sodas. While these are an improvement in some ways, they are
hardly a solution to the problem.

First off, most juices and other caloric non-soda alternatives are
mainly just sugar and water without the carbonation. A quick label comparison between a commercial orange juice and a Mountain Dew would show a similar "bottom line" with regards to calories and sugar.
The only improvement would be the lack of the non-caloric offenders.

But that's no small matter, as the true effects of these ingredients
have not been thoroughly studied. Despite their no-calorie status,
diet sodas have been linked to assorted illnesses. There is no good
science on this yet but my own anecdotal evidence is, so far, 100% accurate. I've yet to have a client not lose weight by kicking diet soda. Granted, all of my clients drank an excessive amount, but regardless,
there is little doubt that the pH balance of diet sodas hinders the
body's ability to absorb nutrients. One client, a female athlete, lost
15 pounds by making no other dietary change but eliminating diet
soda. Fifteen pounds and zero calories—more weird science. The
bottom line to all this is that, for best results, your body would be
happier if you cut most of the calories out of your liquids and cut
out soft drinks—caloric or not—altogether.

How can you help?

In my world, soft drinks would come with the same type of regulatory language as cigarettes and booze, at least. Actually, in my world we'd
all be educated and wouldn't require this language at all, but that's
politics 911, not nutrition 911. Anyway, here are five ways you can help educate the public about the dangers of soda, according to the Center
for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). Contact your local
government officials and/or the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) and suggest that:

National and local governments should require chain restaurants to declare the calorie content of soft drinks and all other items on
menus and menu boards.

The FDA should require labels on non-diet soft drinks to state that frequent consumption of those drinks promotes obesity, diabetes,
tooth decay, osteoporosis, and other health problems.

Local, state, and federal governments should provide water fountains
in schools, government buildings, parks, and other public spaces.

School systems and other organizations catering to children should
stop selling soft drinks (as well as candy and other junk foods) in hallways, shops, and cafeterias.

State and local governments should consider levying small taxes
on soft drinks, with the revenues earmarked for promoting health
and fitness. A national 2-cent tax on a can of soda pop would raise
$3 billion annually.

The Worst Food on the Planet, The Response

I wrote an article about soda, which is certainly the worst thing you can consume as a regular part of your diet. In my mailbag, I got a lot of great responses so I'm going to add all of it here. In fact, I'll add both the article and the responses, should anyone stumble on this blog who didn't find my through my work. Enjoy.

First, the response:

Worst Food on the Planet

Thanks for the huge response this week. This mailbag’s going to be a little long, since I want to share a lot of your letters.

Thanks for the info. on soda. But, I have a question. Other than water, what DO we drink besides water? We only buy 100% juice for our son and that is not available from a vending machine. And heaven forbid he should drink water! Bad food and drinks are everywhere! It's not safe to leave your home without taking food and drinks along with you!Wow! It is tough to even drive down the road without the kids saying they're hungry because of all of the fast food chains we pass along the way! Even though we don't allow him to have soda, it's nearly impossible to avoid "convenience." I'm enraged that they give "toys" with their food. That is the main reason our son claims he's hungry. When we pull up to the drive thru, and I tell him he can get food, no toy, he is no longer hungry! It's tough to raise healthy children with all of the marketing going on. Thanks!Bridget GraverWindsor, NY

There were many of these questions. The bottom line is that calories in drinks should be restricted as much as possible. You are always diluting the whole food and missing out on fiber and such. So you should learn to drink plain water and use caloric drinks as supplements and desserts. Even sodas—if consumed in moderation, like one a day—aren’t too bad. The probably is that we tend to drink them all day long. Washing down a meal with a couple hundred calories of sugar just cannot have a positive effect on your health.
A great alternative is to flavor your water with a small amount of juice. At first, it'll seem like watered down juice, but once you get used to it you will taste the juice in a more subtle manner that actually does a better job of quenching your thirst. Once you get used to this, 100% juices or soft drinks will taste too syrupy.
Also got a lot of letters on other drinks, including beer. One beer is probably a touch better for you than one soda but the rule remains. Drink a lot of beer in a day and your diet will suffer. It’s still calories, most of 'em 'empty'. That’s why they call it a 'beer belly'.
Coffee and tea have no calories, unless you add stuff to them (which is usually high in calories). So mochas n' stuff (and southern sweet tea, thanks Ralene) are filled with sugar and/or fat, but black coffee or straight tea aren't bad unless you're sensitive to caffeine. Caffeine can actually aid in weight loss, but tends to have other effects that can hurt you, especially if it affects your ability to sleep, which is very important.

Ok Steve, I learned long ago the vices of soft drinks. However I am very confused on what besides water to drink.You see I am a single dad to a 13 year old girl. She is a good athlete in volleyball and track. I do a beachbody workout of some type 3-5 days a week .Our refrigerator never has any soft drinks unless brought over by friends or faimily. In the box we keep grape, orange, apple juice, low fat milk, power aid and beer. She drinks juice or milk for breakfast and I drink grape juice(everyday). When I workout(early mornings) I sometimes drink a protein shake afterwards but always plenty water. Lunch is usually poweraid for her and water for me. Dinner is usually poweraid (or apple juice) for her and sometimes a beer for me.Late night 2-4 times a week we have ice cream or cookies and milk. When she visits her Mom(2 nights a week) I have 1-3 beers . Besides this I do drink a lot of water but she drinks only a little water. So my question is do I pitch the juice? Is it ok to drink a lot of poweraid or gatoraid? What else can we drink?
Randy

I got a lot of email about kids. Since she is athletic she definitely has more leeway on what she should drink. But juices and stuff should be limited, as should milk the older you get. The big baddie in this mix is Gator-Power aid. These sports drinks are designed for sports and should never be consumed with meals or while you're sitting around unless it’s so hot you’re sweating like crazy. During and immediately after sports they are fine. At other times, they're just as bad as soda.
On juice, fresh-squeezed juice with pulp—hence fiber—is much better. Juice from concentrate is just sugar. No matter what you drink, learn to read labels http://www.beachbody.com/jump.jsp?itemID=437&itemType=NEWSLETTER_ISSUES.

Hi, Steve, I hope this email finds you in great health and spirits. After a life-long addiction to soda, I am pleased to report that I have resisted the sweet stuff for nearly a year now and have lost over 15lbs as a sole result of this resistance. A gradual trade-off for products like Vitamin Water, various green/white tea drinks and flavored seltzers certainly eased my transition back into drinking primarily water. Quick question though, how do drinks such as: Fresca or Crystal Light and even naturally flavored carbonated water such as orange seltzer compare in calories, etc.? Basically, I'm curious if nutrisweet or citric acid flavored carbonated beverages are also unhealthy )(specifically those that do NOT contain corn syrup and other unnatural additives/preservatives)? Thank you, in advance, for your time and effort; they are greatly appreciated. Best,Christian

It's probably not the best but there certainly isn’t definitive research on this subject and, hey, it’s better than drinking soda all day long. I would continue to strive for making your diet as natural as possible but I doubt you're doing yourself a ton of harm using these as treats. Just don't make them staples.

I really enjoyed reading the newsletter and my ears particularly perked up when I read about diet soda actually preventing weight loss. I know you’ve partially addressed your observations that it caused this in a number of your clients. I had never been aware of this. I know it’s not the greatest thing in the world for you, but I had no idea that it could hinder weight loss. And so, my question is this – WHY? Or I guess a better question would be HOW? How is it possible that something that has zero calories in it can prevent weight loss? Please note, I’m not arguing with you, but for someone who is absolutely addicted to diet soda – actually only Diet Coke sweetened with Splenda – I would find it much easier to kick the habit if I knew the reason behind it.Would reducing the number of cans of soda help this or must it be eliminated completely? Is this true of all carbonated beverages or just sodas? Thank you,H.S.

I mentioned how in the article. There is more to food than calories. Different substances affect the way your body absorbs nutrients. Sodas use a blend of various chemicals that change your body’s natural pH balance—all man-made foods do, which is why your diet should be made up with as much whole foods as possible. Small amounts of diet sodas most likely won’t do much, but a steady diet is bad news. I’m going to let a few emails answer the rest of your question.

i had all but completely eliminated all diet soft drinks from my life a few months ago. turns out, the aspartame, not the caffeine, was the contributing factor to the worsening of a cardiac arrythmia problem i have. now that i have read this nugget of information, if i need a little caffeine blast once in a while, i'll have some plain iced tea (or just go stick my head in the freezer, it works pretty well). i have not lost weight from my efforts, though i have just been diagnosed with a hypothyroid disorder. i am sure keeping those chemicals out of my body has improved my well-being regardless, and i know i feel much better-- no mood swings, no irritability, anxiety, depressive episodes, etc.. i had no idea this stuff was linked to ADD, but i do know i have had much better focus and concentration. this stuff may be worse for you than alcohol in moderation.
-khamanda

Whoa! Get this: When we lived in Texas I hadn't seen my next door neighbor for a few months...saw him out side one day and he had become this tall slim person when before Pillsbury Doughboy.
"What happened??" I asked.
"Lost 80 lbs when I stopped drinking DIET soda!"
What did he drink instead? "Mostly water".
" No-o-o-o-oo! Water? Well, whaddya know!"
Sincerely!
Laurie Hatch

I enjoyed the article on sodas a great deal. So much so that I forwarded it to my mother because i have two younger brothers who drink at least one soda each day.
I actualy gave up soda all together about eight months ago. I had been drinking only diet caffiene free for a long time but one day I just decided that it was pointless to continue to drink them. I lost about5 or 10 pounds in that first month, which seemed odd at first because it wasn;t like I was consuming any less calories. But I have also felt healthier and been sick less since i cut the sodas out of my diet. Now I choose water over every other beverage option and am not even tempted to take a sip of soda.
Hopefully others can give up this horrible substance because there is no upside to consuming it.
THANKS,brandon

I completely agree with this whole article and the suggestions at the end. Even diet soda will increase chances of tooth decay. Because of the acid. I am a Dental Hygienist and tell my patients this all the time. I really really agree with school taking out the soda machines. And there is NO GOOD reason for the schools to sell junk food to kids. And I wish I knew how to help stop the schools from selling the JUNK. Kathy

What research do you base your article on? Micheal Bowers

I used a lot of sources, the main study being the one the showed soda as the number one caloric source in America. However, let's just assume there was no research.

Whether it's number one or number ten, there is little doubt that a high percentage of calories in the American diet come from soda. We don’t need a study to tell us this. Let's just run some numbers based on very basic nutritional knowledge using the information on the side of a can of soda.
It's almost all sugar, along with various chemicals designed for rapid absorption. We don’t need science to tell us we get a rush from drinking soda. You just need to drink one. Basic nutrition shows us that we should not have too much simple sugar in our diet. If you drink soda all day long, there is no way your diet can possibly be balanced. No study is needed to show this either.

We also know that our diets should consist of protein, fat, carbs and that we need nutrients, such as vitamins. Again, just looking at the side of a can of soda will confirm that it lacks almost any nutrients but simple sugar and mysterious chemicals.

Therefore, before we even resort to studies to confirm that the chemicals are bad and hurt our diet in other ways, the simple facts still show that soda should not be a major component in your diet.

Hey Steve,
I recently read a book by a Dr. Batmanghelidj called Your Body's Many Cries for Water. In the book he promotes water as a cure for many things and chronic dehydration as the cause of many diseases. The more "subversive" part of his theory is that he also believes that good salt should be taken along with the water at the ratio of .25 tsp salt for every quart of water. I'm wondering if you have read this book and what your thoughts on it are. I've been a runner in Florida (so I sweat lots) and water drinker for many years and often found myself craving salt (in the form of potato chips). And I've wondered how the salt would be replenished and balanced when I sweat so much out and drink so much water. I'm a pretty good eater too; I stay away from processed foods, etc. He's got a website at http://www.watercure.com/.

I think the book I had was an older version and I believe he says a few things that are not quite correct such as urination being a means for the body to rid itself of excess hydrogen. I thought it was nitrogen. And like many promoters of alternative ideas he spends a large amount of time defending himself. But from what I remember of biochemistry I believe most of what he says is accurate and on an instinctive level it seems that what he's saying makes sense. I'd like to know what your thoughts on this use of salt are.
thanks!
power 90 2 weeks in believer
B Beckford

This is a different subject but electrolyte balance (salts) is important. Salt seems to be misunderstood. Most people get way too much of it because our non-natural foods are loaded with it. However, if you have to little salt you can—and will—die. Salt used to be the most prized substance on earth. It’s necessary for life.

If you eat very clean and don’t add salt to your foods, you should. However, if you eat in restaurants or out of cans, you probably get more than you need.

Your body probably needs about 500mg of salt a day to do nothing but sit around. However, working out of working outside on a very hot day can easily deplete a 1,000mg an hour. Therefore, your salt consumption should vary along with your activity level and amount that you sweat (because you lose salt). My salt consumption varies from almost nothing some days to many thousands of mg’s when I’m doing an endurance event.

wow, the soda article was great and i try to think how its still possible to reach parents who will believe this and will practice it...how upset i get when i see a 1 or 2yr old drinking soda from a can or macdonald cup...its the parents i want to slap.... my children who are 28/26 now...i had asked the elementary private school (20yrs ago)to please stop selling junk and soda at the school, their response was but we make 60,000 a yr extra money....

if your child has no control of buying this stuff its not our fault....but the major problem of this is...everyone at least 85% need to do something and i'm afraid only 20% will take the time to do what they should and stand up to this but no one wants to take that 10minutes to see what they can do....i work at walmart...i'm proud to work there but something that i think walmart needs to do is not open those macdonalds in their stores anymore....but can a healthy food place afford the high rent there? i don't think so...only macdonalds can afford it, and every other customer i see has a bag of macdonalds when they pass me.....thats my two cents worth....thanks for listening......

glady mills

There are so many of these I’m just going to let ‘em roll for a while. Great stuff, everyone. Thanks for sharing!
Kudo's to that article on soft drinks. They make this stuff so available at school, then tell us our kids are ADD, all the while, making money on them. No telling the damage I did to my body when I was a teenager using diet soda to control my eating...not necessarily my weight! Luckily, I had a revelation, and gave it up rather easily years ago. Consequently, while I was raising my 4 children, I never bought the stuff. It was always available elsewhere, they "learned to drink it", and we did go through the periods when they complained that I never bought them soda when I went to the store (like all their other friends' homes....), but I rarely see these same 4 teenagers drinking sodas today! We do drink iced tea and coffee, but moderately, and we go through a 5 gallon bottle of pure clean fresh water every day or so around our house, much of it in that pure state. The last time I drank a diet dr. pepper (3 months ago), I had such severe physical reactions, I thought I was going to have to run by the ER on my way home. That convinced me forever!
Marcia
YES ... I absolutely agree with the article on every point.
I grew up in a house pop in the refridgerator 24/7 ... it was used as a "reward" for good behavior, or as a dinner drink, on weekends for a "party drink", and any other real or imagined "occcasion".
I finally rebelled against the stuff in my early '30's and began drinking water 90% of the time. I stopped drinking coffee after too many dental cleanings and stomachaches from all the acid.
Today, at 59 years old, I am healthier, still go to the gym 3 days per week, and have done 50 mile + bicycle rides. Water is my drink of choice and always will be. Any kind of pop is bad stuff for the body. I think it should be taxed like liquor or cigarettes. RonVancouver WA
Loved your article on how bad soda is. I stopped drinking soda about 13 years ago because I was getting kidney stones. I don't miss it at all. If I have a sip of someone's soda for a taste, it is so sweet to me. I don't enjoy it at all, I'd rather have water.
Fran Figurelli

Thanks for the news on soda. I have been waiting for someone to come out with this info for parents and children alike on this particular subject. Many people have no idea about the dangers it can cause including aspartame poisoning. All should be made aware of what these things do to our body and mind and this is a good start. Being informed is the only way to make a difference.
Sincerely , Julie Fowler - Beach Body member


Having moved here just over a year ago from England, I am amazed at how much sugar and salt seems to be in ordinary foods. I am having a hard time finding bread that doesn't taste sweet and everything has high-fructose corn syrup listed on the label, even if it's not supposed to be sweet. I bought fresh chicken breast the other day and it tasted salty and I commented to my husband that it seems as if people can't taste food any more unless it's flavor is enhanced.
Having read the ACAHS article, I can agree with everything. I worked at a school in England and the children (aged 4-7) could bring in a snack for recess, but were only allowed to bring in fresh fruit or vegetables. Their attention after recess was improved because of the slow release energy in the snack. A young child that moved from the USA turned up with a blueberry muffin. On being told that she was only allowed to bring in a fruit or vegetable snack, her mother replied that blueberries were fruit! At lunch time, only water was offered to drink and the children that brought in lunch from home were not allowed to bring in any carbonated beverages. School meals were also on the healthy side with lunchtime supervisors who encouraged the children to eat some of everything so that they were getting a balanced meal. Even with my own children, I have had trouble convincing them that Sunny-D is not the same as orange juice. "But it's full of vitamins, Mum" they would say, "it says so on the commercial". I simply refused to buy the stuff and when we were in the supermarket showed them all the additives and sugars listed on the label. Then I showed them the label on fresh orange juice. Now they are convinced.
I have always managed to steer them away from McDonalds too (except for the odd birthday party) and they now call it McTrash. I am glad that I managed to change their way of thinking before we moved to the USA, because it is so much harder to find healthy, unadulterated food here than it is in the UK. I will persevere though, because they are both much better behaved when they eat REAL food.

Thanks for the articles, I'll keep reading
Regards
Clair Bourne

What a great article. While you're singing to the choir with me-- I've been a label reader and organic food eater for decades-- but you state everything really well in this article. I'm forwarding it to friends. Thanks for having the guts to slam the soda companies-- something they well deserve!!
Barbie Beckfordnew member 1.5 weeks into power 90.
Thank you so much for publishing the article on the dangers of soda. You made some excellent points. One thing I might add is that doctors should start warning patients (especially pediatricians) about the dangers of soda, just as they warn patients about the dangers of smoking.If the public can begin to become aware of the dangers of trans fat, perhaps there's hope in this area, too.
Kim Parham
I thoroughly enjoyed Steve's article on regular and diet softdrinks. I couldn't agree more on them being the worst food/drink on the planet!! They are the possible link to so many health problems today and a warning label should be placed on every container.This article needs to go to every home in America. Thanks for your input and awareness. I plan to share this article with friends who need it most.
Sincerely,Pam Maurer , Montgomery, Alabama

Thanks for this great article. Is it possible to add a link to our senators & congressmen? There should be some kind of website to this effect somewhere that might even add a form letter or email that we can send. That way your editorial not only has info, it has effect.
Please feel free to pass this on. Here are a couple of links. Make yourself heard.
Contact Congress
Amen...
Madonnatantric